Kamen Rider Oshoku
by Iccirrion
Summary: In the port town of Atarashi events unfold that will lead one man down a path he can't return from. (Rated T for language and violence, rating may be change to M if content requires-Constructive criticism is appreciated)
1. Day 1

Kazema looked up at the crumbling ceiling, each individual crack in the concrete seemed so clear to him. He just lay there on his back, wondering if there were any stories behind those cracks; boisterous children living upstairs, jumping about, not giving anyone peace, or maybe something more sinister, a black market deal gone wrong. Kazema knew well enough himself that time was the only culprit for the crumbling ceiling, but time wasn't something he wanted to think about at the moment, he didn't have much of his own left.

A sudden sound of falling rocks woke Kazema from his thoughts; he looked sharply left towards the source of the noise and saw a familiar silhouette appear in a large hole in the wall, it was a large figure, clad in armour with a large, clawed shield attached to his right forearm.

"Finished already?" The figure asked, his voice distorted by his mask.

Kazema returned his gaze to the ceiling and raised his hand, taking in the blue cracks that ran along the length of his arms and spread to his fingertips. It was probably just his imagination… but it seemed to him that the cracks on his hand fit perfectly into the cracks on the ceiling. Letting his hand drop to his side he thought of the figure standing not 20 feet from him.

"You've caused me quite a bit of grief, Ichika." Kazema spoke, still staring at the ceiling, "A shame I can't take my time killing you." He slowly stood up, the cracks over his body glowing slightly brighter as he did so.

"One way or another, it ends here." Ichika declared as he stepped into the room.

"Another?" Kazema scoffed, "the only way this is going to end is when you're dead!" Crossing his hands over in front of his face he finally let out the tears of anger he'd been holding back. The blue cracks over his body starting to glow brighter.

"Henshin!"

* * *

><p><strong>5 Months earlier<strong>

Kazema gazed into the mirror, a scruffy, black haired man gazed back, they locked eyes for several seconds before blinking simultaneously. He sighed and threw some of the water from the sink at his face, trying to wash away the drowsiness, failing to accomplish that he left his bathroom to go and prepare breakfast, hoping that something would happen allowing him to skip work for the day.

Shoichi Kazema was quite simply: normal. He had medium length black hair, dark brown eyes, a stable job filing documents for a medium sized export company and lived by himself in a small apartment. The most exciting thing that had happened to him recently was when his parents decided to cut their tour of Europe short to visit him for his 25th birthday 9 months ago. He lived in Atarashii, a young town on the east coast of Japan and a major trading port with the USA. It wasn't a large town, 3 large office buildings dominated the centre of the town but other than that there were few buildings more than 3 stories tall.

After eating and giving his hair a quick comb Kazema locked up his apartment and began the walk to the docks. It was a busy time of day, everyone rushing to their own workplace or trying to catch a bus or train. Coming up to a road, Kazema looked left towards the 3 towers in the centre of the town, as he watched he felt a strange chill creeping down his spine. Shaking his head he turned his head right, saw there was no traffic and began to cross, he hadn't made it half way across when his stomach lurched, he collapsed on the ground, resisting the urge to throw up, clambering up onto his knees he looked back towards the towers just in time to see the closest tower topple over.

At first Kazema couldn't move, he just sat there, staring, trying to comprehend what had just happened; for seemingly no reason, a full office building had just toppled over, hundreds of people had probably been inside when it fell and hundreds more could've have been underneath it. Thinking of how many people had probably died in front of him made Kazema feel worse, he tried standing up just as another wave of nausea hit him. This time he saw what happened, a golden wave of energy flew over him from behind and carried on until it hit a second tower, slicing it cleanly along the 6th floor, slowly the top of the tower began to list, before it too fell. Kazema turned around trying to identify the source of the golden wave, it didn't take him long. In the middle of the road about 20 yards from where Kazema stood was a golden armoured figure, on his right forearm a large golden shield that reached back up to his shoulder and had three blades protruding about 3 feet over his hand. As he watched the figure raised his arm and swung his shield, sending another wave of energy towards the third tower, Kazema didn't even need to look; the sound of a collapsing building is not something that you forget quickly. The golden figure didn't seem to be content with the destruction of the towers, raising his arm again he brought it down, sending a wave of energy straight down the road, snapping Kazema out of his daze he half-jumped, half-fell backwards, barely evading the wave of energy as it tore down the street, leaving a chasm in its wake.

Kazema was lucky, not everyone had been able to escape from the attack and as he watched the people hit collapsed to the ground and began glowing blue and their forms suddenly changed, some sprouted claws from their fingers, one grew two extra arms and another grew wings. Slowly the blue glow faded leaving the people no longer human, their new forms and a covering of black armour had left them looking like something out of a nightmare. The golden figure seemed amused by what he had done and sent another wave flying down the street, this time horizontally, Kazema quickly tried to run to a nearby alleyway but as he turned around to check if he had escaped the wave tore through the front of the building beside him.

Kazema didn't have time to move he could just stand there in horror as the wave of energy brushed along his waist. As soon as it passed he stumbled back, waiting for his own transformation, lifting up his shirt he noticed thick blue cracks where he had been hit by the attack. To his surprise, it didn't hurt as such, but it felt cold, as if he had ice stuck to him. Time passed slowly for him, he was vaguely aware of the golden figure continuing to attack people, and even thought he saw him pass by the entrance to his hiding place, but time carried on and nothing happened, the cracks on his waist just pulsed slowly.

"_Maybe a glancing hit isn't enough to cause the mutation"_; Kazema thought to himself, "_if that's the case maybe I should head to a doctor, maybe this can be treated"_. He stood up and walked over to the entrance to the alleyway. He looked out at the devastation and noticed that the monsters had disappeared, along with the golden figure. Making sure the coast was clear Kazema began running towards the docks, he knew a doctor there, not far from his workplace; hopefully, she would be able to help.

* * *

><p>Inui Maya stared at her TV screen, it showed a view from a helicopter over Atarashii, and the three fallen towers that now lay at its centre. A thick cloud of dust covered most of the inner city but it was still easy to see how much damage had been done to the city.<p>

"Eyewitnesses report seeing 'golden waves' in the sky above the city shortly before each building collapsed, police are investigating and the JSDF has been put on alert in case of further incidents." The reported commented as the camera zoomed in on a street that had a large crack running along its length. "The local council has ruled out the possibility of an earthquake and are currently examining the blueprints of the collapsed towers to check the possibility of structural failure."

Maya lifted the remote and turned the TV off, she had seen enough, she had felt the ground shake when the buildings hit the ground and the dust cloud was already starting to make its way towards her home. She walked over to a nearby arm chair and collapsed into it. She looked across the room with loathing at the white coat she had hung near the door; she was a doctor, she was supposed to be able to help these people, if she hadn't arranged for her surgery to be refurbished with more modern equipment.

Suddenly, as Maya sat fuming at the fact she was unable to help, her door burst open and a man collapsed in the doorway.

"Kazema-san!" she exclaimed as she recognised the body lying on the floor, "What happened?"

"I was in the town…when the attack started." Kazema gasped, still recovering from his panicked sprint to the house.

"Attack?" Maya asked quizzically, "Are you telling me that someone actually attacked the town." She glanced towards the TV, "No wonder the JSDF are involved."

"It's not what you think…this wasn't just a terrorist attack…I don't even think it was human." Kazema coughed as he stumbled over to the nearest chair a fell limp into it.

"That can't be, you're probably in shock. I'll go make some coffee and get you something to help relax." And with that she started walking into the kitchen.

"Inui-sensei!" Kazema called after her, "Even if I am in shock, I think there's something more serious I need you to look at." As he lifted up his shirt, revealing the blue cracks that ran along his waist. Maya turned around and gasped.

"What happened to you?" she asked as she rushed over to the first aid box she kept on the wall.

"I was caught in the attack, it only scraped me but whatever it was that he was using wasn't natural." Kazema explained as she put on a pair of disposable gloves.

"He?" Maya asked, "What exactly did you mean by you didn't think it was caused by humans?" Kazema winced as she dabbed an antiseptic wipe over his wounds.

Kazema quickly explained what had happened during the attack and the origin of his wounds. "These wounds certainly aren't like anything I've seen or heard about, the best I can do is to dress them." Maya told Kazema, "And I can't say anything about the gold armoured one other than the fact that your description reminds me of an urban legend I looked into a couple of years ago." Kazema looked up, curious as to what she might have found.

"There have been legends of armoured, masked warriors appearing since the earlier 1970s, and even now people still claim to see them, I think the bulk of rumours at the minute are coming from Zawame. And although most of them are reportedly 'Heroes of justice', there are reports of some more evil warriors. Most people now refer to them as Kamen Riders." Maya sighed as she finished bandaging Kazema's wounds, "I normally don't believe in legends, but if you really attacked, maybe it was an evil Rider, I'll have to go back over my old notes and see what I had on them."

"Kamen Rider, huh?" Kazema thought back to the figure he saw in the road, "I think I've heard of them, yeah, there was a film about it released not too long ago that I went to see with some guys from work."

"Then maybe that's what he was." Maya replied as she returned with a glass of water and a packet of tablets, "Take two of these, they should help stop any infection and hopefully relieve some of the pain." Kazema obeyed but the cold feeling didn't disappear.

"Thanks for everything." Kazema said as he stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Maya asked as he reached for the door handle.

"Home, where else?" Kazema responded bluntly.

"You live on the other side of the city; that Rider could still be out there and even if he isn't you've got a serious wound. As a doctor, I can't let you leave my supervision." Maya stated, her hands on her hips. "As my surgery is closed you will stay here in the spare bedroom until either your wounds have healed or the crisis in the city is over and a hospital can take you in." Kazema opened his mouth to argue but quickly realised this was a conversation he wasn't winning.

"Very well, but in any case I'll need to head home to pick up some stuff, I won't be gone long." Kazema said reluctantly.

"Okay, but if you're not back within 4 hours I'll find you and bring you back by force." Maya said, not a shred of sarcasm in her voice.

* * *

><p>Kazema stood in the road where he had first met the golden Rider, the street was empty now and most of the dust had settled. It look like something from a disaster movie, storefronts destroyed, cracks in the road, the stumps of office blocks in the background, and two lone people in the street.<p>

Kazema looked over at the other person, it was a women looking in the windows of the buildings she passed sobbing and calling for someone.

"Shuu!" she cried, over and over. Thinking back, Kazema tried to remember the people he had seen in the attack, had he known any of them, did they know him? He shook his head and began walking across the street towards his apartment, hoping it was still in one piece.

Suddenly he heard a scream and instinctively turned towards the woman. His eyes widened, a black armoured creature had come out of one of the storefronts and was looming over the woman who had fallen back in surprise. It was vaguely human but at the same time, something completely different. It had the same proportions as a human, 2 arms, 2 legs, a head; but then the blades protruding from its elbows, the mandibles on its face and the clawed feet all revealed that this was something far from human. Worst of all, Kazema recognised it, it was one of the first people he had seen hit by the golden wave.

Before he knew what he was doing Kazema was in front of the creature, he swung his left fist at it, taking it by surprise and knocking it back into the store. He stood there gasping, how had he moved that fast, why did he do what he just did? His waist was starting to hurt, a cold aching pain slowly spreading out from his wound.

Suddenly he had an idea, it would probably get himself killed, but as he saw it, the creature was probably rather angry with him as it was.

Kazema raised his left arm in front of the woman who had stood up behind him; he could vaguely hear her thanking him as she looked into the shop trying to see if the creature had gone. His left hand formed a claw and he raised it in front of his face. He thought back to the film he had watched recently.

"Henshin." He almost whispered, despite the fact he was about to die, he didn't really want anyone to think he was crasy.

For a second he thought he was, did he really think, even for a second, that this wound would actually give him powers, it had allowed others to transform, but they seemed to lose their minds and body.

Then just as the creature started to stand up, the wound on his waist glowed bright blue, his bandages disintegrated and a golden belt appeared around his waist, covering the wound, and from the belt grew plates of armour and a strange blue energy, spreading out over his body, down his arms and legs, around his hands and feet and over his head. Within a second, Kazema had been covered head to foot in a blue, scaled skin, with golden armour plates over his chest, shoulders, legs and forearms. A golden helmet adorned his head; he looked out into the shop at the creature with two slanted blue eyes. He lowered his right hand, revealing his new face to the world. The woman behind him screamed and ran; she fell in the street once before running out of sight.

Kazema lowered his head, he had thought that if it worked he might be recognised as a Kamen Rider, a hero of justice.

"I guess to them I'm just the same as you." He told the creature as it lunged at him.

Kazema swiped with his left hand, knocking it out of the air and into the street. It charged him again, raising its left arm, trying to bring one of its blades down onto his shoulder; he stepped out of the way and drove his own elbow into its stomach, knocking it back. He didn't understand how he knew what to do, when he had never fought before in his life, save for a brawl or two during his school years. The creature was starting to recover from his counter attack, standing up, looking for an opening to exploit, raising its elbow blades. Kazema took a stance, his right leg slightly behind him, bent, his left straight out in front of him, he crossed his arms over his chest and took a breath.

"**Final Kick!"** A deep voice spoke, coming from his belt.

Without thinking Kazema leaped into the air, bring his left leg back and extending his right. Blue cracks started appearing along his armour at his right knee, quickly spreading down to his foot where the cracks converged, just before he collided with the creature.

The creature screamed once, before exploding in a cloud of blue energy which started flowing towards the blue crystal in the centre of Kazema's belt.

Suddenly an intense pain wracked Kazema's body, he started screaming and collapsed, writhing, to the ground, eventually the cloud of blue energy was completely absorbed and pain disappeared. The armour that covered Kazema returned into the belt which in turn disappeared into his body. It wasn't enough for Kazema to notice, but slowly the blue cracks on his waist started spreading, ever so slowly.

Kazema just lay there, realising just how much had happened in the last 4 hours. His home town had been devastated, his neighbours turned into monsters and he had become something more than human. He looked up at the sky as the clouds passed overhead, it wouldn't be long before Maya would come looking for him, until then he would just lie there, watching the clouds pass by and listen to the birds who still sung from the dead trees.


	2. Day 2

"Mou!" Maya looked around Kazema's apartment in despair, "How can you find anything in this mess?" she asked as she lifted another sheath of papers off the floor.

"I've already told you, it was tidy earlier, the buildings collapsing probably knocked everything over." Kazema explained angrily, "Ah, found them." He exclaimed triumphantly as he knocked aside some papers and lifted a key from underneath them.

"If you have a bike then why do you always walk to work?" Maya asked.

"You can't go down side streets on a bike, if I rode I'd have to go down through the town centre and get past traffic, walking actually gets me there quicker, and it's healthier." Kazema replied. "Well, that's everything I need."

"Let's head back then. We'll take my car; I don't want you collapsing in the street again." Maya said as she stood up and started walking towards the door. Kazema looked out towards the docks as she left, he hadn't told her about what had happened then, she had arrived after a couple of hours and Kazema just told her he felt tired and wanted to lie down for a bit. He wasn't sure how she'd react if she found out what he had become. He turned around and followed Maya out of the apartment, locking his door behind him.

"So what about my bike, we can't fit it in the car?" Kazema asked, jingling the keys in his hand.

"You can come get it when you're feeling better." Maya said bluntly. "Now come on, it's about time I put lunch on."

They drove back to Maya's house in silence, neither of them having anything much to say. When they got back Maya immediately headed into the kitchen, leaving Kazema by himself in the front room. He picked up the TV remote and turned the TV on, flicking to the news channel.

"We return to Atarashii, where just 8 hours ago the town's three towers collapsed. The JSDF has confirmed now that the destruction of the towers was an attack by an unknown organisation, several pro-isolationist groups have claimed responsibility but none have yet provided proof that they are guilty. The method in which the buildings were destroyed remains a mystery, no sound of explosion was heard and all three buildings were structurally sound. In reaction to this threat the government has ordered that the town be placed under quarantine." The reporter droned. Kazema's eyes widened, "_quarantine?"_ how would that help the town. "The quarantine will begin effect at 8 o'clock this evening, when it will become a crime to leave the city. Normal water and electricity services will be maintained and food will be delivered regularly until the JSDF has confirmed that the threat has passed." Kazema turned off the TV, in a way it made sense, someone in the city had the power to just cut down skyscrapers, if they quickly began a quarantine they could catch him before he moved on to a more heavily populated city, but then again, how did they know the culprit hadn't already left, Kazema hadn't seen the golden rider since earlier that morning. He looked at his watch, 15:37, only 2 and a half hours before he would become locked in the town, not that he had ever really wanted to leave, but there was always a difference between not wanting to and not being able to. At the very least they were still allowed access to water and electricity, and there would be food supplies, but would it all still be for nothing if the golden rider had already left.

"Well, that's something." Kazema snapped round to see Maya standing in the door way, a transparent box in her hands. "I didn't feel like cooking so I decided we could just have some onigiri, I always keep some around the house for when I don't have time to cook between patients." She opened the box and passed one of the rice-balls to Kazema. "Quarantine, eh? This'll be interesting." She sighed as she bit into her own lunch.

They soon finished eating and started cleaning the house, something to occupy them for a few hours. After that they ate dinner; more onigiri. 8 o'clock came and went, nothing in particular changed, and then they went wordlessly to bed.

Kazema looked down the road towards the city outskirts; in the distance he could see spotlights, a military blockade probably. It was a strange feeling, the whole city, or what was left of it, was open to him, everywhere he had ever needed or wanted to go was still there, but his mind keep nagging at him, telling him that now he was trapped, stuck in the city.

Kazema sighed as he walked over to a nearby building and sat down against the wall, he looked down at his waist again. Yesterday felt like a dream, the collapsing buildings, the people turning into monsters, and his own transformation. A spider crawled of the wall and down over his chest, but as soon as it touched the wound it light up a bright blue before fading away to nothing. Mildly alarmed, Kazema made a mental note to get Maya to redress the wound, and to make sure she wore gloves again.

Kazema thought back to his battle yesterday, it seemed silly even now that he ever thought he could transform, but it happened. It scared him more than the golden rider did, or the monsters, that he wasn't sure what had happened to his body, and also that his armour looked eerily similar to the one who inadvertently gave him this power. He thought back to the image of the rider at the end of the street, cutting down buildings and people indiscriminately, if Kazema was to continue using his power, would he end up like that, mindlessly murdering all those around him. He thought of Maya, of the young couple who lived next door to him, would he eventually kill them. He had to get away, but where, where could he go where he would never come into contact with another human being. But then again, could he leave when he knew there were others out that that only he would defeat. Kazema pulled at his hair and groaned, he didn't like this, he had been happy enough with his boring job at the office, reading books in the evenings, and generally getting on with his life, what did that rider hope to obtain by ruining the lives of the people of Atarashii?

"Kazema!" shouted a familiar voice coming from the city, Kazema looked up to see Maya storming towards him, he should have known she wouldn't just let it slide when she woke up and found him missing.

"Please calm down Inui-sensei, I just needed some fresh air." Kazema said desperately as Maya caught up to him.

"You should've told me first, what if something had happened while you were out. As your doctor I'm responsible for anything that happens to you." Maya snapped, sounding almost like a mother finding her son had snuck out of the house.

"I don't think the city council cares too much about procedure at the minute." Kazema had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth before Maya's palm collided with his face.

"Well I do." She tried to shout, but she was obviously on the verge of tears. Kazema looked down at her, "I had to sit and watch while people in the city died, I couldn't do anything to help. I can't forgive myself for not being able to help, I don't know what I could've done but I wasn't even there to try."

"Inui-sensei…" Kazema whispered, he scolded himself silently for thinking he was the only one affected by the destruction of the city.

"If you die now…" Maya's voice collapsed into sobbing and Kazema placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I was just caught up in my own problems." Kazema tried to think of something he could say, "Let's head back." Maya nodded, and they walked off, back to the city.

Four eyes watched them from a shadowy alley, a pair of clawed feet scratched at the ground and a bladed arm twitched slightly. The creature who owned those features watched until Maya and Kazema until they were well out of sight before swiftly darting further into the alley.

As Kazema and Maya walked silently through the streets towards Maya's house, Kazema finally decided to break the silence with one of the many questions that had been bothering him.

"Where is everyone?" He asked, his voice piercing the quiet that had surrounded them.

"Those who aren't dead are probably hiding, or if they didn't see what happened, protesting against the quarantine." Maya replied, a frown on her face, looking towards the ruined towers, wondering herself why she didn't take action earlier, even if her clinic was been refitted, she could have helped the city hospital. She couldn't find an answer, maybe she knew in the back of her mind that something was happening that she couldn't have prevented, or maybe she was just scared of dying herself. She shook her head, what happened couldn't be changed, and if she had been out in the city she wouldn't have been there for Kazema.

"There's a shop along this street that I go to often, I want to check if the owner's there." Maya said quickly before her thoughts got any more depressing. She grabbed Kazema's arm and started jogging, it felt better to move quickly, the breeze against her face calmed her despite the air still smelling of dust and smoke.

Kazema tried his best to keep up with Maya but the sick feeling in his stomach had returned, his eyes darted around, looking for any sign of the golden rider or another creature, but he saw nothing. Suddenly Maya stopped, the sudden change almost causing Kazema to fall over, they were outside a small, unnamed shop with a simple sign above the door reading '_Food, drink and other essentials_', in his mind Kazema complimented the owner, whoever it was didn't mess around, it was plain and simple, no fancy labels, only what you needed to know, but before he had time to examine anything else Maya had walked on into the shop, dragging Kazema behind her.

"Maya!" A friendly voice called from the other end of the shop, "You're okay!" A short man with fading hair appeared from around one of the aisles and looked the two over. "A new boyfriend, eh? Anything I can do for you today?"

Both Maya's and Kazema's cheeks flushed red and Maya quickly dropped Kazema's arm. "I just came by to pick up some things…" Maya stuttered trying to think of a way to deny the owner's previous question.

"Planning on a romantic dinner, or supplies for the coming apocalypse?" The owner asked, laughing.

"Just some basic things for the next week…and Kazema-san is just a patient." She explained, before Kazema pushed forward.

"What did you mean, 'coming apocalypse'?" Kazema demanded, quickly stepping back when he realized the desperation in his voice. "Sorry, I'm a bit on edge at the moment."

"No problem." The owner said as he began taking several items of the shelf and setting them in a nearby basket, "I saw what happened, that golden warrior cutting down buildings, humans turning into monsters, it really does seem like the end of the world, even if the military blockade the city, I don't think they're going to be able to stop whatever force has arrived here."

"You seem awfully calm about it." Kazema thought aloud, as he reached up to help take a box down from a top shelf. "Most people wouldn't be returning to work anytime soon.

"In my opinion, if the world's ending, there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well enjoy what's left of my life, and if the world isn't ending, there's nothing to worry about anyway. I have no family or close friends and if a young man like you is protecting my only regular, I have no real worries." The old man laughed again.

"I told you, Kazema is just a patient." Maya exclaimed, "If anything I'm supposed to be looking after him."

Owner chuckled, "I just think that if the world is ending you shouldn't leave anything unspoken." Suddenly the owner's eyes were locked onto Kazema's and his voice became a shade more ominous, "You never know when something could happen."

Suddenly Kazema's hands were covering his waist, somehow the owner seemed to know something about what was happening, Kazema didn't want to question him in front of Maya, but he would have to remember where this shop was. Maya noticed Kazema's hands and gasped.

"Your dressings have come off! You should have told me earlier!" Maya scowled, grabbing Kazema's arm again she turned to the owner, "I'm sorry but I need to get Kazema-san's wound seen to. I'll can come back later to pay and pick everything up."

"No need, just take it now, no point charging you for some simple scraps of food." The owner laughed, his voice back to its normal happy tone. "I'm sure I'll find some way you can repay me, maybe you can come up with a name for my shop." He laughed heartily as Kazema and Maya bowed and left the shop.

"Why didn't you tell me your dressings had come off." Maya asked as she bandaged Kazema's waist again.

"I didn't notice they had come off." Kazema bluffed, relieved that Maya had put on a pair of disposable gloves, it may just have been because the fly was small but it wasn't worth the risk, at least the energy only seemed to affect living things.

"I think we should head back to the shop, I don't feel right taking the stuff without paying, no matter what he says." Maya said as she finished bandaging the wound.

"I'll go." Kazema offered quickly, he had some questions he needed to ask owner. "I'm not feeling all that bad."

"No!" Maya's voice was stern, "I've already told you, the only place you're to leave my sight is in the bedroom and the bathroom." Kazema sighed, he would have to find some way to convince Maya that there wasn't really anything wrong with him. Reluctantly agreeing, they put on their shoes and left for the shop.

They hadn't made it before Kazema suddenly felt incredibly ill, knowing this time that there was an immediate threat, he thrust his arm out in front of Maya, trying to figure where the threat would come from.

"Kazema-san, is something wrong?" Maya asked seconds before Kazema pushed her back and onto the hard tarmac. She turned to shout but her voice caught in her throat as she saw a humanoid combination of a mantis and a wasp fly out from a nearby alley towards Kazema. Before it reached him Kazema knocked it over with a swift kick before repositioning himself between the creature and Maya, his left arm extended, shielding her in the same posture as the previous day. Not stopping to think Kazema raised his right hand in front of his face, and this time shouted.

"Henshin!"

The golden belt again formed around his waist, the blue stone in the centre pulsing as the glowing energy engulfed Kazema, leaving a golden clad warrior in his place.

Maya looked astounded up at Kazema's new form, completely lost for words, a part of her mind screamed at her to run but her body sat on the ground completely still.

Kazema charged at the creature, resolved not to let it near Maya, and unleashed a punch which the creature easily dodged. It turned around to face Kazema again, obviously aware at where it's biggest threat was, it stood silent for a second before darting to the right, curving round to hit Kazema from the side. Before Kazema's human side could react he had already extended his leg which collided with the creatures head with an unnerving crunch. The creature stumbled back, clawing at the splintered shell on its head and screeching loudly.

Before it could recover Kazema drew his right fist back and let out a breath.

"**Final Punch!"**

The voice from the belt spoke again as blue cracks appeared on his elbow and spread to his fist where they converged on the knuckle of his middle finger. The creature looked up just in time to see Kazema's fist collide with its face, it instantly disappeared into a cloud of blue energy which drifted momentarily before flying towards Kazema's belt.

A fierce pain once again wracked Kazema's body as he writhed on the ground, the blue scales that covered him pulsing with energy. After several seconds his armour disappeared and his belt shrunk back into his flesh, leaving Kazema lying unconscious in the road.

Maya still sat there staring, she couldn't make sense of what had just happened. Her mind vaguely registered Kazema's comatose form, enough to give her voice back its strength. As she sat there there was only one thing that it seemed sensible for her to say, even if just to break the eerie silence that had come over the area since Kazema collapsed.

"What the fuck?"


	3. Day 3

Kazema opened his eyes slowly, his head hurt and the wound on his waist was even colder than usual. As his eyes focused he saw he was back in Maya's house, sitting on an armchair in the corner of the living room. Maya herself sat across the room, staring at him. As Kazema straightened himself in his chair he remembered what had happened. Another one of the creatures had attacked him and Maya, he had transformed to fight it, and Maya had seen, he hadn't thought much about how she would react but seeing as he was back in her house he assumed she hadn't panicked too much, although the stare she was giving him was rather unnerving.

"Good morning." Kazema said sheepishly, realising he didn't actually know the time. Maya's stare was unflinching. "Is everything okay?" Maya scowled.

"Explain." She commanded, her eyes not leaving Kazema. "Tell me everything that's happened since the attack." Kazema sighed; she didn't look like she was going to give him a choice. He recounted everything that had happened since he had left for work that day, going through each detail, the specifics of the golden rider, the people he'd seen turned into monsters. He told her of what had actually happened when he had gone to get his stuff and how he seemed to know when the creatures were about.

After he had finished retelling his story Maya stood up and walked to the window, opening the curtain, the sudden light blinded Kazema, although he was glad to see it actually was morning.

"How did you know you had that power, no one ever told you that it did anything?" Maya asked, trying to prise out more details from him.

"I didn't, I was just…desperate. I had nothing else to try." Kazema tried to explain, he still didn't know himself why he tried to transform. Maya stood by the window silently for several seconds.

"As far as I see, your description of the golden Rider seems very much like your own transformed self." Maya stated finally. It annoyed Kazema that Maya was comparing him to the Rider, but soon realised he himself had never really seen his new form and Maya had never seen the Rider, without the rider appearing Kazema had no way to prove he himself wasn't the one who attacked the city.

"Maya-san, do you really think I would attack the city, what have I got to gain." Kazema said, trying to think of a way to get her to believe him.

Maya turned, mildly annoyed at Kazema for suddenly referring to her casually. "Of course I don't, I just don't think you should use that power if it's the same power that Alpha used."

"Alpha?" Kazema said, confused by the term.

"It's what I've decided to call the other Rider, 'the golden Rider' is a bit of a mouthful and as he seems to be the origin of the monsters and your own power, I'll call him Alpha." Maya stated, and it made Kazema feel a bit better, 'Alpha', it made him more confident, being able to put a name to the masked figure.

"I need to find him, if anyone knows how to cure this," Kazema said gesturing to his newly bandaged wound, "it'll be him." Maya nodded slightly, it made sense that Alpha would know what exactly he had done to Kazema.

"I going to head out and start searching." Kazema said as he stood up. Maya quickly moved from the window, a frown on her face.

"No, it's too dangerous out there, we don't know yet if Alpha would be willing to talk and besides there may be other monsters out there." Maya said, blocking Kazema's path.

"It's okay, if anything shows up I can fight it. This wound isn't all bad." Kazema smiled, Maya's frown just grew

"It's not okay, both times you've fought so far you've ended up unconscious for several hours afterwards, and besides, I've noticed something, I've bandaged your wound three times now." Maya's voice was worried. "Every time I've had to bandage it I've used more cloth, that wound grows every time you defeat one of those creatures." Kazema thought back to his previous fights, it clicked, every time he defeated a creature he absorbed them, and the fierce pain he always felt could easily have been his wound growing.

"I know we don't have any choice but to find him, but I'm coming with you, otherwise something or someone might come along while you're unconscious." Maya stated finally, lowering her arms. Kazema smiled.

"I don't mind, just make sure whenever you fix me up to wear gloves." Kazema smiled, he was glad that Maya didn't seemed to be scared of him, at least not in the same way as the previous woman he had met was. Maya punched his shoulder.

"I'm a doctor, I know to wear gloves when fixing wounds." Maya said, her own face smiling now, she didn't exactly know what had happened to Kazema but she did know him, he couldn't have been responsible for the attack, this city was all he had. Kazema started for the door, but Maya's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"What's wrong now?" Kazema asked as Maya moved towards the kitchen.

"You're not leaving this house until you've eaten something, you've been out cold for almost 24 hours."

Kazema examined the trench in the road, he was standing right where Alpha had been when he destroyed the towers, behind him the houses were completely untouched but in front of him was ruins, he didn't think he could ever get used to this view, his home, destroyed.

"Have you seen Alpha since the attack?" Maya asked as she examined a destroyed store front.

"No, I'm not sure he's even in the city anymore." Kazema confessed.

"I wish I knew more about his personality, if we knew why he was doing this maybe we could figure out where he would be." Maya thought aloud. Kazema was about to mention that they could inform the JSDF at one of the blockades when the sound of a helicopter began approaching. Maya and Kazema looked round for the source and soon saw it, a helicopter with two rotors was approaching from inland, a large wooden crate cabled to its underside.

"That must be the supply shipment we were promised." Maya said as she began to walk to towards the ruins of the towers where the helicopter seemed to be stopping. Kazema started after her but soon collapsed to his knees a sick feeling in his stomach. Maya turned around hearing him fall.

"Kazema!" She shouted, her voice alarmed, he looked up and saw her pointing behind him. Turning round he was met with the sight of Alpha gazing up at the helicopter. Before Kazema could move Alpha swung his bladed shield, a wave of energy flying towards the helicopter, Kazema didn't need to look, a few seconds later her heard the explosion followed shortly by a loud crash.

"Maya, hide." Kazema instructed. Maya nodded, running into a nearby shop.

"Henshin."

Kazema's bandages disintegrated, and his belt appeared around his waist, followed shortly by his armour. Crying out he charged at Alpha.

"Interesting." Alpha commented as he blocked Kazema's punch with his shield. "I thought when I saw you hit you would become like the others." He explained as he swung his shield towards Kazema who barely dodged by dropping to the ground.

"What did you do to me? How do I fix it?" Kazema demanded as he circled Alpha, looking for an opportunity to attack. Alpha shook his head as he lunged towards Kazema, the blades of his shield brought up in a vicious slash. Kazema wasn't able to dodge; the impact sent him flying back through a shop's window.

"Honestly I don't know, I didn't even expect anyone else to develop powers like mine." Alpha explained, his voice sounded amused, "Although your power doesn't seem to be anywhere close to mine in magnitude." He reached down grabbing Kazema throat and pushed him up against a wall.

"Let me explain myself, this city is a test, I want to see how well-off people react when their peace and comfort is taken from them and replaced with constant, immediate danger." Alpha spoke quickly, his hold on Kazema's neck preventing him from replying. "But you are special, with you I can also discover how only a partial infection affects humans without any danger to myself." Alpha pulled back and threw Kazema through the wall of the shop and onto the street.

"I'll be watching." Alpha said as he disappeared in a golden glow. Kazema's armour flashed gold and disappeared. He turned on his chest reaching out his hand.

"Wait!" He half-shouted, half-croaked before his body fell limp.

"Kazema!" Maya cried, she had stepped out of her hiding spot and now ran towards Kazema. She turned him over, a large, vertical wound now covered his chest, but this time it was red. Blood seeped out, dying Kazema's white shirt. Maya lifted him up and put him over her shoulders, she collapsed to her knees, it would've been easy to get her car like last time, but she couldn't leave him in this condition. Struggling to her feet she moved as fast as she could down towards the shore, hoping that there was a least one room in her clinic which was still usable.

Kazema woke for the second time that day, he was lying down this time, the room around him was completely white, a small square of black to his left showed that it must have been late evening, but other than that he couldn't make out any details. Slowly his eyes came back into focus and he saw he was in a doctor's surgery room. He tried to sit up but his muscles failed him, collapsing back onto the bed only able to get his head a few inches of the pillow. He turned his head to the right a saw a red shirt sitting crumpled in a basket, along with a white coat with several red stains on it. Kazema's mind was fuzzy, he tried to remember what had happened but the thoughts just swirled randomly in his head, there had been a helicopter, he was angry and then…he couldn't think straight, he could feel a headache coming on, thinking now wouldn't help at all.

He heard footsteps and turned his head to the door as Maya walked in. "You awake?" she asked, her voice gentle, she had the small smile of a nurse on her face.

"I guess, where are we?" Kazema responded, his voice a faint croak.

"My clinic, luckily one of the rooms had been finished; I'm not sure what we would have done if we had to get you to the hospital." Maya replied. Kazema started to remember the previous fight.

"I guess you were right about Alpha not wanting to talk." Kazema tried to joke, his voice still struggling to escape his lungs.

"Try not to speak too much. I'm just here to check your stiches." Maya's voice had changed, Kazema realised; he wondered what kind of condition he was in to have her talking so quietly.

"What stiches?" Kazema asked, "I thought you said you couldn't do anything for my wound."

Maya's smile disappeared. "You haven't noticed yet?" She asked.

"It hurts to move, I can't even lift my head much." Kazema replied, "What exactly happened?"

Maya sighed, "It seems that when you transform it's not like you're putting on armour, you are actually transforming the physical structure of your body. When Alpha hit you, your injuries translated over to your normal form." She said softly as she brought over a mirror, angling it so Kazema could see the injury.

The large cut extended all the way from his waist to the base of his neck, a red line bisecting his torso. Kazema could see that where the cut had joined the wound on his waist it had started to spread up through the new wound, slowly turning it blue.

"I may not have beaten him, but I did get some information during our battle." Kazema croaked. "He said it was an infection, so I was right about it being contagious, why I wanted you to make sure you wear gloves." Kazema stopped to cough before continuing. "He said the city was an experiment, he wanted to see how people would deal with this kind of situation, we're all just specimens to him." Kazema's face fell, "And he was also surprised at my own ability to transform, he knows nothing about it. I guess I'm stuck like this." Maya looked at the infection on Kazema's waist, it did seem like an infection, the way in which it was spreading through his body.

"I will find a cure for you Kazema-san." Maya said, as much as to tell herself as Kazema. Kazema gave a short laugh.

"You dropped the 'san' earlier. What happened between now and then." He joked, trying to get away from the tense atmosphere.

"I was panicking, you were in trouble." She explained, turning her face away.

"I really don't mind, it makes me feel like I'm a friend." Kazema smiled, trying again to get up, with no more success than his last attempt. "I think I'll try to get some sleep, hopefully I'll be able to move again when I wake up." Maya nodded and went to leave the room. "See you in the morning Maya." He called after her. Maya turned her head.

"Good night…Kazema." She whispered, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Maybe it would be okay to be a little more casual around Kazema, after all it seemed they would be stuck together for the near future, just not around owner. Nodding to herself she returned to her office and sat back in her chair, a short sleep, hopefully tonight Kazema wouldn't wander off first thing in the morning.

Alpha stood at the end of the pier, watching the moon as it sailed across the night sky. Today had revealed a lot, the people didn't react as chaotically as he had expected when he had destroyed the supply helicopter, but then again, the city still had its food supplies left. Maybe in a week he would start seeing more exciting results. The JSDF blockading the city was another thing he thought on, while potentially a benefit, they prevented his subjects from leaving the city, they might cause problems for when he had to leave. And then there was that man, the one who could transform, that was a significant addition to his research data. Alpha had assumed he would have to use data he gathered himself to find the extent of his powers, but if he continued to observe that 'Kazema', he thought the woman had called him, he could develop his own powers without putting his own life at risk. The only downside was that with Kazema killing his creations, there would be less and less of a threat opposing the people, he would have to find a way to remedy that without sacrificing more subjects. But first of all, how to follow Kazema, he needed to remain unknown, but at the same time close enough to see everything that happened.

Alpha's armour shone for a second before shrinking back into his skin, leaving only the shield which soon slid into his right forearm. He stood there in his human form, his body completely covered, sunglasses shielded his eyes, the upturned collar on is jacket hiding his face, a hat covering his head, gloves on his hands. He stood watching out over the pier, he needed to make sure the Kazema didn't see any of his features, if Kazema found out who he was as a human, he would level the playing field, but for now Alpha was safe.

"I'll be watching." He spoke again out to the pacific.

Outside Maya's clinic a young man stood across the street, spots of blood on his green hoodie. He had been out walking when he saw the woman carrying the injured man, he had recognised Kazema, he lived nearby and often greeted each other on the street, helping to carry him was the least he could do, especially considering that blue wound on his waist. The man looked up at the stars, he had to get back, he had a job to do, if he didn't move soon he would lose them. And in a ruined city it wasn't hard to disappear. Taking on last look at the clinic the man moved on, the woman had called him a Kamen Rider, if that really was true, he would run into Kazema again soon; the legends all say that Riders exist to protect.


	4. Day 4

Mai ran through the street, the shadow behind her growing closer. She couldn't die now, people needed her; she clutched the bag she held tighter to her chest and tried to increase her pace. She turned into an alleyway to see if she could lose the creature, it didn't work, and she had just run into a dead end. The creature slowed, knowing it had its prey trapped.

"Damn it." Mai growled under her breath, "I didn't want to have to use it here." She dumped her bag on the ground and lifted both her arms over her head, "You will face my blade."

* * *

><p>Kazema winced as the scalpel cut into the flesh around his wound.<p>

"Just put up with it. If you want me to find a cure for this infection I'm going to need tissue and blood samples." Maya told him as she created a small incision just above his wound.

"Couldn't you have at least given me some painkillers first?" Kazema complained.

"Yes, but with the quarantine and all I'd like to save them for whenever you come home with one of those again." She answered, nodding her head and the large cut that covered Kazema's chest. He bit his lips as Maya finished cutting out a rectangular section of his skin, using the scalpel to carefully remove it before placing it on a clear, plastic dish. "Well, that's that." She said, removing her gloves and putting them in the bin.

"Aren't you supposed to dress that?" Kazema asked.

"No point." Maya replied, "I only took a few layers of skin, you've suffered worse, and I want to save as many coverings as I can for your infection, you seem to keep getting it destroyed every time you transform and we wouldn't want anyone else coming into contact with it."

Kazema sighed and sat up. "So what happens now?" He asked as he picked his shirt up of the nearby table. "We tried talking to Alpha, and that didn't work out well." Kazema ran his hand along the stitches on his chest, somehow he felt that the wound should have hurt, but then again, people can't normally transform into golden clad warriors.

"I'll try going up to the hospital in a few hours and see if I can use their equipment to examine those samples I got from you." Maya replied, "And I recommend next time you see Alpha, run. I don't want to see you coming back with such large wounds again."

Kazema considered what to do, he felt well enough and didn't want to sit around the clinic all day, but what really could he do; he didn't know which friends of his were dead or alive, he was confined to the city by the quarantine and if Maya was going to the Hospital he wouldn't have anyone to talk to. "If it's okay with you I'm going to go and get my bike while you're gone." Kazema decided.

Maya looked disapproving at him, but she didn't want to just leave him to sit in an empty clinic for several hours. "Fine, as long as you watch your wound and phone me immediately and tell me where you are if you ever see one of those creatures, someone needs to drag your body back to the clinic once you've finished fighting." She told him.

"You think I'm going to be going off fighting monsters when I've just been stitched back together." Kazema tried to laugh, his chest aching slightly. "I just want to be able to ride again, might help me feel better."

"You sure you won't come to the hospital with me?" Maya asked as she was about to leave the room.

Kazema sighed, "I've told you before, I want to keep this between us, If others found out about it I'm not sure how they would react, you said it yourself that I looked similar to Alpha, and not everyone is as trusting as you are." He replied.

"I know, I forget sometimes that not everyone becomes a doctor to help people." Maya frowned before she suddenly lifted her head. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. While I was bringing you back to the clinic, I met a young man, he said he knew you, helped me to carry you back to the clinic. What did he say his name was...?" Maya tapped her head, trying to remember, "Oh, Tsubasa! That's it. He asked me to tell you that he was okay, he survived the incident, despite being near the towers when it happened."

Kazema smiled, Tsubasa was an orphaned teenager who Kazema had been renting his converted garage to. It was good to hear that he survived; that there was someone else out there he might be able to talk to again.

Tsubasa had told Kazema about how his parents had died in a car accident when he was young, and how he had kept moving from place to place, living with various foster parent before they all eventually rejected for one reason or another. He had first appeared at Kazema's door about 18 months ago, at that time he had been rather depressed and had nowhere to go, Kazema rented the garage out to him for a low price and they had in general helped each other out, taking turns to cook and clean. A couple of weeks before the incident, Tsubasa had been invited for a month long trial in a city centre gym to evaluate him for a full-time job as an instructor, he was given accommodation for the duration of the trial, and afterwards if he got the job. Kazema's confidence in Tsubasa assumed that he would get the job, so they had both said their goodbyes. Although Kazema guessed that Tsubasa no longer had that job opportunity.

"I wonder where he's staying." Kazema wondered out loud.

"It looked like he was coming from the same direction as your house." Maya informed him, before smiling, "Did you know him?"

"Bit of a long story, I'll tell you while we eat." Kazema stood up from the clinic bed, "I'm starving."

* * *

><p>Kazema scowled as he approached his house; the door had been smashed open. He could already see that most things of value had been stolen, "I guess the police are otherwise occupied." Kazema said to himself as he checked to see if the looters had left anything behind. He entered the house and walked through to where the garage was, the main door didn't seem to have been opened so his bike might still be there.<p>

He approached the door to the garage and pulled out his key, put it in the lock and turned it. He heard the clang of something metal hitting the floor on the other side of the door and flung it open to confront whoever was in the room. In one corner, a young man stood, a hood over his head and a metal pole clasped between his hands, wielded as if it was a sword. As soon as Kazema entered the room the man lowered the weapon.

"Kazema-san?" the man spoke, his voice rasping, nevertheless, Kazema recognized the voice instantly.

"Tsubasa, you're alive!" Kazema exclaimed, despite already having being told. He started walking up to Tsubasa as he lowered his hood but soon stopped.

Half of Tsubasa's face was wrapped in makeshift bandages, covering his right eye and extending down to parts of his neck.

"What happened to you?" Kazema asked as Tsubasa stepped out of the corner.

"I was beside a petrol station when the buildings collapsed," He explained, "there were a few sparks and then it exploded. I was one of the lucky ones, at least I was able to get away with most of my skin." Tsubasa shuddered.

Kazema didn't know what to say, he could already imagine what Tsubasa must've seen, he might not have seen Alpha turn people into monsters, but he had seen others die before him in horrific ways.

"I assume you came for your bike." Tsubasa rasped, "Sorry for scaring you, I had nowhere else to go, and I still had that spare key of yours, so I decided to wait here until something was sorted out." Tsubasa walked over to the centre of the room and pulled a cloth off Kazema's motorcycle, a red and white Honda CB500X. "I haven't tried it out, but it doesn't look like it's been tampered with.

Kazema smiled as he walked over to the bike, "You should come with me, I've been staying with a doctor since the incident, she might be able to help your burns."

Tsubasa nodded as Kazema got onto the bike, hesitating for a second before getting on the back. "Don't you have a helmet?" Tsubasa asked as Kazema leant over and pressed the button to open the garage door.

"It would have been in one of the other rooms. I would guess that it's probably been stolen by now." Kazema replied as he revved the engine.

Tsubasa tightened his grip as the bike pulled out of the garage and started off down towards Maya's clinic.

They hadn't been travelling long before Kazema suddenly stopped the bike, almost throwing Tsubasa off.

"Is something wrong?" He asked Kazema, who was looking into a storefront to his left.

"I just want to check in here, there are some questions I want to ask the owner." Kazema said as he dismounted the bike, "Call for me if anything or anyone shows up." He instructed as he walked into the shop.

The shop didn't seem to have been touched since he had last been there, but there was no sign of the owner. He walked up towards the counter and saw a handwritten note lying beside the cash register. Kazema picked it up and read it to himself.

'_I know you must have questions, and I know that I can probably answer them, but for now it is best you remain ignorant of the true extent and implications of your power._' Kazema clenched his free fist, so the owner did know what was going on, he continued reading.

'_I can at least tell you about what is going on in the city, the creatures you see are human beings corrupted by the same infection you carry, but unfortunately for them the infection was able to completely corrupt their bodies, turning them into what I refer to as, 'Fallen'. I warn you that anyone who comes into direct contact with a Fallen or even your infection will instantly pass on the infection, so be careful when people are around you. It should also be noticed that the infection within each person is sentient, whenever you eliminate a fallen, your own corruption will consume what's left of its power to grow its own strength._' So Maya had been right, the infection was growing quicker with every monster, or Fallen, he defeated. There were a few sentences left on the page and Kazema quickly read down them.

'_I will give you one last piece of information to help you, while the infection cannot directly infect anything that isn't alive, its power can be forced to enhance equipment temporarily. This is all I can say at this point in time. I trust the city to you, Kamen Rider. –Beta_'

"Beta…?" Kazema thought to himself, it was a strange name, he would have to ask Maya about it, but before he could think any more on it he heard a cry from outside.

"Tsubasa!"

Kazema ran out the door and saw Tsubasa staring down the road, where a Fallen with large claws and a wolf like head had its teeth sunk into a woman's shoulder. A sick feeling rose up in Kazema as he recognised the woman as the one he had seen when he first transformed. As he watched, blue cracks spread out from the wound and covered the woman's entire body, before glowing briefly. Black armour sprouted out of her now blue, scaled skin, creating what seemed to be a spider-like humanoid, four additional limbs sprouting from her back and eight glowing red eyes appearing on her face. As soon as the transformation was completed, the new creature panicked and ran, leaving the wolf Fallen who looked hungrily at Kazema and Tsubasa.

Kazema finally snapped himself out of his daze as he raised his right hand in front of his face and extended his left arm out to the side.

"Henshin!" He shouted as his belt appeared, followed shortly by his armour.

Tsubasa looked at Kazema in awe, his golden armour gleaning in the sunlight, although now there was a metallic, grey strip down the chest of the armour, overlapping perfectly with Kazema's wound.

"I'm not wasting any time here." Kazema told the creature as he took a few steps over to the motorcycle and set his hands on the handlebars. The note had said he could use the infection to in effect 'power up' inanimate object, so releasing a breath, Kazema tried to force the infection into his bike.

The effect was almost instant, blue cracks appeared all over the bike as it morphed from a simple red and white Honda, into a golden, armoured machine. The Fallen looked quizzically at Kazema and his bike, trying to decide whether he was friend or foe.

Kazema mounted the bike and gunned the engine, hurtling towards the Fallen, it tried to dodge but Kazema turned and sent it flying down the street. It landed in the middle of the road in a heap and struggled to stand up. Kazema revved the engine as the crystal on his belt flashed blue.

"**Final Ride!**" The voice from the belt called as the tyres of Kazema's new bike became engulfed in blue flames. Kazema revved the engine once more before accelerating towards the Fallen. It looked up just in time to see the bike bearing down on it, before it was hit and burst into a cloud of blue energy, which soon flew towards Kazema's belt.

Kazema cried out and gripped his stomach as he absorbed the creature, but fought off the faint feeling, leaving him awake for once. With a thought Kazema undid his transformation, his bike reverting to normal at the same time.

Tsubasa walked over from where he had been standing, "She wasn't joking…" He said, his voice a whisper, "You really are a Kamen Rider."

* * *

><p>Kazema followed Tsubasa through the streets of the inner city, "Would you please tell me where you're taking me?" he asked as he stepped over a fallen streetlamp.<p>

Tsubasa turned around, "You're a Kamen Rider right?" He replied, "There is someone I need you to protect."

Kazema sighed, he knew that as things were, he was the only one who could fight off the creature but he wasn't sure if he should be taking requests.

They kept walking through the city for several minutes before they finally turned a corner and found a small camp of about eight people at the base of one of the fallen towers. Tsubasa stood around the corner, as if he didn't exactly want to be seen.

"Most people by now have either gone to the barricades to protest, the hospital for treatment or have holed up inside the military barracks on the outskirts of the city." Tsubasa told Kazema, "This is one of the few groups who have decided to try and survive in the city, they might as well be family now."

Kazema nodded, "So…Is there any reason in particular you want me to help these people?" He asked as he examined the group.

Tsubasa shifted his feet, he had planned an excuse but decided against lying to Kazema, "There's a girl in that group, about my age, Yuki." Tsubasa's cheeks flushed red as he turned his eyes to the ground, "She's been scouting around the city for supplies and is always fighting those creatures, luckily she has been able to fend them off, but…" he swallowed, "I don't want to see her get caught and turned into one of those…things."

Kazema looked down and Tsubasa and smiled, "I can't promise anything, this power isn't something I can use too often, but I will keep an eye on her on one condition."

Tsubasa looked up, he hadn't expected Kazema to accept so quickly, but he wondered about the condition that he was talking about. "What do you want me to do?" he asked nervously.

Kazema's smile grew, "Simple really, I want you to introduce her to me."


	5. Day 5

"So you've never actually talked to her?" Kazema asked, him and Tsubasa still behind the building.

Tsubasa shook his head slowly, "I…I'm just not sure how to talk to her."

"Most people start by introducing themselves." Kazema said as he put a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder and pulled him round the corner, starting to walk down towards the group.

The girl soon looked up, her hand going to the katana on her hip, the other members of the group turning to see the newcomers.

Kazema raised his hands in greeting, and to show he was unarmed, Tsubasa followed slightly behind, also raising his hands.

"What do you want?" The girl demanded, her hand gripped around the katana, obviously not yet satisfied that they weren't here to hurt them.

"I'm Shoichi Kazema." Kazema said bowing slightly, "And this is Hikari Tsubasa." Tsubasa also bowed, trying to hide his face under his hood.

"Tsubasa-san? From the gym?" The girl asked, her grip loosening as Tsubasa nodded. "I'm Yoichi Rei. But I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"

"Given recent events, I just thought it might be safer in a group." Kazema said, deciding not to mention Tsubasa's motives. "I might be able to help against those Kaijin."

Rei shook her head, "I'm not sure anyone can help against those things." She said, "I've tried fighting them myself, my sword does nothing but scratch them."

"I might surprise you." Kazema said, hoping Rei wouldn't force him to explain further.

She stood silent for a few moments, the rest of the group muttering among themselves.

"I guess having a couple more people couldn't hurt." She decided eventually, "Safety in numbers and all that."

Suddenly, she drew her katana and pointed it at Kazema's throat.

"But if you try and pull anything…" She left the threat there, sheathing the weapon.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We would gain nothing if we tried anything." Kazema said raising his hands.

Rei moved back over to a nearby box and sat down, "We're settled then." She looked up at Kazema, her eyes suspicious, "We'll soon see if you can back up your claims, one of those things has been stalking us for a while now, it'll show up soon enough."

There was an awkward silence before Kazema decided to make a suggestion, "I know the owner of a clinic down near the shore, it might be safer if we moved there. We might be able to get shelter, and there are less places that a Fa…Kaijin could hide." Kazema decided not to reveal how much he knew, it wouldn't be good for them if they started getting suspicious.

Rei thought for a few seconds before looking around at the rest of the group, checking their expressions.

"That might work, we'll need some time to get packed up though." Rei said finally, the majority of the group looking like they approved of the decision as they started to put the belongings piled around them into various bags and boxes.

"Kazema-san, could I talk to you for a moment?" Tsubasa said, pulling Kazema away to the side.

"What is it?" He asked, checking over his shoulder on the group.

"Are you really sure about this?" Tsubasa asked, "It looked like fighting those creatures hurt you, and I don't want to put you in danger for this, I can stay back myself."

Kazema smiled and put a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder, "I appreciate your concern, but only I can properly fight the Fallen, and besides, I'll probably end up fighting it at some point anyway."

Tsubasa nodded, bringing his hand up to scratch his bandages. "I just don't feel right asking you to do this, there's no way I can repay you."

"You don't need to, I've got nothing better to do really." Kazema shrugged as he examined Tsubasa's bandages. "Those look pretty worn, shouldn't you get some new ones."

"Tsubasa shook his head, "I don't think we'll be able to get fresh medical supplies for a while now, we should save what we have for more serious problems."

Kazema shrugged again, "If you say so, but it's on you if your eye gets infected or something."

Tsubasa just nodded before walking over to the group that seemed to have finished packing, Kazema following behind.

"Lead the way." Rei said, now carrying a full backpack and holding a plastic bag filled with water bottles in her left hand.

"Of course." Kazema responded as he started walking down the street, the group following behind him.

* * *

><p>Kazema walked at the front of the group as the trudged through the ruined city streets. Looking around he saw just how much worse the damage was where the towers had collapsed compared to where he lived. Several buildings had been completely flattened, there didn't seem to be a single intact window anywhere, and rubble littered every inch of the streets.<p>

Tsubasa and Rei walked at the back, mostly in silence, keeping watch for any Fallen that might try and attack.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Rei said after a few minutes more of silent walking, "What happened to your face? It looks painful."

"I was by a petrol station when the tower…sparks and petrol don't go well together." Tsubasa mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Oh…" Rei looked down as well, "But at least it was only your face, and you're still alive." She said eventually, looking up and trying to smile. "It's comforting to know that there are people I know who survived."

Tsubasa nodded mutely, turning slightly to look at Rei with his uncovered eye.

"You can trust Kazema-san." Tsubasa said as they continued to walk along, "I lived with him for a couple of years when I first arrived in Atarashii, and I've seen him fight those monsters before, he'll definitely be able to protect yo-us."

Rei looked over at Tsubasa, she had heard him stutter, but hadn't heard what he had been going to say, "If you say so, but I'm curious to know as to how he is able to fight off those creatures…"

"I'm not sure myself." Tsubasa half-lied, he knew perfectly well that Kazema could transform, but he didn't know himself how that worked or why he had that power, he had never thought to ask.

"Whatever it is, if it can fight those creatures and it's on our side, I think I can cope with it." Rei smiled as they continued walking, "As long as I can protect everyone, I'm happy."

Tsubasa nodded, looking ahead at the group, they still seemed rather suspicious of Kazema and Tsubasa, but they were trying not to show it.

"What have things been like in the town?" Tsubasa asked, he had only really been in the outskirts, only occasionally coming back to keep a secret eye on Rei.

"After the towers collapsed everything went to hell." Rei started explaining, "At first everyone was just running around, panicking. Then the quarantine was announced and people started getting angry, at the police, the terrorists, the government, everyone really." She sighed, "And then those monsters started appearing, that's when people got scared, they started focusing on themselves; stealing, murdering, I've even heard of cannibalism." She shivered as she continued, "We all came together because we want to be able to retain our humanity, together we can protect each other, and our numbers scare off most scavengers and maybe even those monsters." She smiled again, "My father taught me how to use a sword, I always thought it was useless, but it's helped me drive off those things a couple of times now, even if I can't kill them."

Tsubasa nodded, "But now you can leave things up to Kazema-san, he can fight them properly."

Rei shook her head, "Just because he's shown up doesn't mean I can back down, I promised these people I would protect them, and I will continue doing so, even if it is just backing up your friend."

Tsubasa frowned inwardly, he really didn't want to see Rei put herself in danger, "You're always like that…" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

><p>Mai sighed as she wandered through the streets, Kazema said he had gone off to get his bike, but he still hadn't come back.<p>

"Kazema-san!" She called down the street, but no reply came.

She started walking towards his house, maybe he had just decided to have a lie down there, after all, walking about with that wound of his must've been pretty tiring.

She thought back over the last few days they had spent together, it already felt so normal…but that was probably shock. She couldn't have imagined something like this actually happening to her, so her mind just kept trying to think normally; do the housework, make dinner, have a shower, etc. Nothing really changing the schedule, except that she didn't have any work to do.

She soon arrived at the street where Kazema said it had all begun, the fissure in the middle of the road marking it clearly. She looked down the street, towards the town centre and tried to imagine what it must've been like to have been here when it happened, what exactly had Kazema seen?

Suddenly she felt cold; there was someone behind her, and she felt she knew who. Slowly she turned, proving her suspicions.

Alpha stood a few yards up the street, fully armoured, watching Mai carefully.

"What do you want?" She asked, trying her best not to sound afraid.

"I'm simply curious as to why you've reacted the way you have." He replied, "I expected most people would consider Kazema as much of a monster as the Fallen. I find it…compelling, that you decided to help him."

"Of course I did, he's a friend." Mai retorted, her fear slowly becoming anger as she remembered everything this man had done to the lives of the people of Atarashii.

"And what will you do when that friend loses control?" Alpha asked, taking a step forward, "Surely you've noticed by now that he doesn't fight without consequence."

Mai thought back, it was true that the infection was spreading slowly, and grew faster whenever Kazema defeated one of the Fallen, she had never considered what would happen if the infection took over completely.

"It will happen eventually. I've seen how he acts, he will use his power again and again, believing he is saving people, when in reality he is creating the ultimate Fallen within himself, and when it's released…well, who will save you then?"

"I'll find a way to stop it." Mai said quietly, trying more to convince herself that Alpha.

"You will try." Alpha said as he turned and started walking away, leaving Mai behind to think about what he'd said. Was Kazema really going to become one of those monsters as well?

She shook her head, she mustn't think like that, she had to find a cure, quickly. She turned and started back to the clinic, Kazema could take care of himself for now, the best way she could help was from her lab.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kazema, Tsubasa and the rest of the group were starting to approach the port area of the town, the smell of the sea strong in the air.<p>

"How much further?" Rei asked, having come to the front of the group to talk with Kazema.

"Not far, it's a straight walk from here down the shore, no more than a mile." Kazema said.

Rei nodded in response as the group walked on, but after a few metres Kazema suddenly clutched his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Rei asked, "We don't really have many medi…"

"Get into that warehouse." Kazema cut her off, pointing down to the shore, "It's coming."

Rei just stared for a few seconds before she registered what Kazema was saying and quickly started organising the group, redirecting them down into the warehouse.

Kazema looked around, trying to spot the creature, he could even hear it now, chattering in the shadows.

"Kazema-san, take this!" Rei shouted over, tossing him her katana, which he deftly caught.

"Thanks." He said as Tsubasa ran over to him, covering his back.

"You can sense them?" He asked as he searched the shadows himself for the source of the noise.

"Kinda." Kazema turned round and grabbed Tsubasa's shoulders, "You get down to the warehouse, I'll deal with this thing."

Tsubasa opened his mouth to protest, but realised he would just be in the way, before running down to the warehouse to join the rest of the group.

Kazema smiled as he turned to search for the Fallen again, only to find it a foot in front of him.

He only just dodged its clawed hand as it swiped at him, rolling back as his belt materialised around his waist.

"Henshin!" He called, charging at the creature as his blue and golden armour materialised over his body, a silver gash still present on the chest piece. The katana he still held in his hand started to glow slightly as blue cracks formed over it, before transforming into a large long sword.

"This might be useful." He said, swinging it at the Fallen, which jumped backwards onto a nearby building, clinging effortlessly to the wall.

"A spider, eh?" Kazema jumped up at it, but was quickly shot down by several blue projectiles that the Fallen shot from its chest.

"Maybe a gun would've been more useful." Kazema said as he got back to his feet, trying to figure out how to get close to the creature.

The spider Fallen looked back at Kazema curiously, as if it was analysing him, Kazema doing the same.

After a few moments, Kazema lunged at the creature, bringing his sword in to try and block any potential attacks, but at the same time the Fallen lunged, bringing its arm around his sword to rake its claws along the wound on Kazema's chest.

Kazema was knocked back to the ground, blue blood now dripping from his re-opened wound, shakily he got to his feet and pointed the sword at the creature.

'_I can't hold out like this much longer, I need to finish it now._' He thought to himself as the gem in his belt started to glow.

The Fallen charged again, moving at incredible speeds, its claws raised, aiming again for Kazema's chest.

"**Final Blade!**" Called the voice from Kazema's belt as blue cracks appeared over the sword, converging at the point as Kazema thrust it forward, the Fallen's own momentum carrying it forward onto the blade.

The force of the impact still sent Kazema flying back into the warehouse, landing on several wooden pallets as the creature vaporized and was absorbed into Kazema's belt. He struggled to retain his consciousness as he cancelled his transformation and stood up, his wound still dripping blood, although it was now a familiar red.

"I think it's safe now." Kazema said as he turned to the group, although they weren't there anymore.

A second Fallen stood among the bodies of what had been the group, almost all of them were dead. Only Rei, and Tsubasa who was holding her back, were still alive.

"Kazema-san!" Tsubasa called as he pulled Rei back towards him.

"A diversion…" Kazema muttered to himself, he hadn't realised that the Fallen could be that smart.

He tried to summon his belt again, but collapse to the floor, the combination of his wound and having just absorbed a creature, completely draining him.

"Kazema!" Tsubasa shouted, dragging Rei over to him, "I'll do something. Rei, stay with Kazema-san, please." He said as he turned to face the creature, taking a few steps forward.

Rei looked up at him, "Tsubasa-san…"

"I'm sorry for using you Kazema-san." Tsubasa said as the Fallen slowly started taking a step towards the remaining three, "I was afraid of doing anything myself, so I tried to get you to do it for me. But now…"

He brought and hand up to his bandage and took out the pin that was holding it together, the wrapping quickly coming loose and falling to the ground, revealing Kazema's right eye, which was completely blue, with cracks spreading out from it.

Tsubasa raised his left hand over his eye, "…Now I will fight. Henshin."

A golden mask appeared over half of Tsubasa's face, looking as if it was made of feathers. Blue energy shot out from it over the rest of his body, forming a scaled skin as golden armour appeared over him, all of it resembling wings or feathers.

Once his transformation was complete he turned to Kazema and Rei, "I'll finish this quickly."

The Fallen had stopped moving, it hadn't expected this to happen, a second human with the powers of a Fallen.

Tsubasa didn't give it a chance to think out a new plan, charging in and kicking the creature back, following through with several punches, the last one of which sent the Fallen flying through the rear wall.

Tsubasa walked out after it as it stood up and tried to limp away, deciding this wasn't a fight it could win.

Tsubasa held out his hand and a column of blue energy appeared in it, materialising into a golden rifle.

"**Final Shot!**" A voice from Tsubasa's eye called as he aimed the weapon at the creature and blue cracks appeared over the weapon, converging at the barrel.

Tsubasa took breath and pulled the trigger, a bolt of blue energy flying from the gun and tearing a hole in the Fallen, which quickly vaporized, the blue cloud of energy flying into Tsubasa's eye.

He cried out in pain, and collapsed, writhing, to the ground. A few moments later his armour shrunk back into his body and left him lying there unconscious.

Kazema limped over to him, helped by Rei, both with looks of shock on their face.

"That idiot…" Kazema said as he knelt down beside him and quickly checked his pulse, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't know?" Rei asked, her voice emotionless.

Kazema just shook his head, "Come on, we need to get to the clinic before it gets too late." He said as he leant down and lifted Tsubasa onto his back, cringing as he felt the action strain the wound on his chest.

"Mai is not going to be too happy…"

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a while since I've updated this, but life happened, Christmas, big mock exams, and general stuff got in the way, but it's here now for anyone who was waiting. So, hope you enjoyed and I'll start work on the next chapter soon.<strong>


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